What should we expect next?

[Dandavie]

My father-in-law was diagnosed with inoperable Stage 4 PC at the end of July 2014 with spread to his lungs. He had a biliary stent inserted within a few weeks of diagnosis and has been lucky with no major stent issues. He did start on Gemcitabine but only tolerated 1 cycle (3pulses) before making the decision to stop (Nov 2014) as it was flooring him and reducing any quality of life he had left. His appetite has never been good and has lost over 5 stone - he is on Creons!

We have had a reasonably well 7 months with him and he has only been hospitalised once in this time with a diabetic hypo.

The last few weeks though have been a bit of a struggle and he was hospitalised for 10 days as he just could not get up out of his bed. He had lost the ability to even hold himself up. During this time they managed to get his pain under control and is now on 40mg of MST and Severodol when required. He did have a few falls in the ward when he just went down with no warning.

He was only discharged last Monday and then he had another one of these episodes today when his legs/ body just will not work and he is unable to move. This resulted in him falling when he tried to get out of bed and then soiling himself as he didn't make it to the toilet. He is back in hospital and we are awaiting results to see if he has an infection.

Just wondering if any of you have had similar experiences when caring for loved ones and what we need to be prepared for? Is this the next stage before the end result?

I appreciate it may not be easy for people to share their experiences but I would like to at least be aware of what we are going to be faced with in his final stages of life?

[Sueoliver]

Hi my mum was diagnosed in May 2014. We haven't had any episodes of being unable to move or falling. The weight loss makes them weak and unsteady!

The nurses on here may beable to give you some advice and you can contact them during the week.

I hope your father in law is comfortable now and the hospital are helping him. This is a good forum and people are helpful so there may be someone who has had a similar experience.

Take Care . Sue

[J_T]

Welcome to the forum, sorry to hear of your father in law's diagnosis.

Its so difficult to know is happening and what to say. It may just be that he is completely exhausted and has lost so much weight he just does not have the energy to move. My husband, unfortunately, got to the stage where he just could not get out of bed, he had no energy at all (we had a commode in the bedroom and we lifted him when needed). He did have a few spiked temperatures but latterly refused to go to hospital as he wanted to be at home and his previous experiences had not been good. We managed his high temperatures very well at home and he got his wish to stay put.

On the other hand I know from reading other people's posts that what sometimes looks hopeless can change dramatically.

Decisions about which way to go are very personal. We just went along, as mush as we could, with Ray's wishes. I'm glad we did.

I hope your father-in-law can get back to a good quality of life.

Best wishes

Julia

[sandraW]

Hi and welcome to the forum, sorry haven't got any advice for you. I do think that as everyone is so different the end can come in so many ways, which of course is the very scary part. I think we all want to be prepared for when the time comes, but from what I understand, people seem very ill and with rest and support they can rally and have a good quality of life again, lets hope this is the case for your father in law, take care sandrax